Max Verstappen got away well from pole position while George Russell had a slow start from the front row of the grid. Russell struggled into the first corner, allowing Lando Norris to take the inside line at the exit and get a better run to move himself up to P2. Later in the lap, Charles Leclerc ran side-by-side with the slow Mercedes in the stadium section but couldn’t get by.
But Leclerc had to keep his teammate Carlos Sainz at bay, as the Spaniard piled on the pressure in the opening laps. Early attempts by Sainz were thwarted in turn 15 and the first corner. On lap five, Sainz finally made a move stick, diving up the inside of his teammate on turn 15 and forcing his teammate wide at the exit.
Once he was unleashed, Sainz caught Russell and another dive in turn 15 promoted the Ferrari to the podium. Leclerc made a similar move on Russell the following lap, showcasing how much the Mercedes driver struggled on the newly resurfaced Circuit of the Americas.
Yuki Tsunoda provided some entertainment after the Ferrari battle had cooled down, fighting first with Sergio Perez and then with Oscar Piastri. Piastri, who started out of the position after a difficult qualifying session, was carrying a five-second time penalty he had earned for forcing Pierre Gasly off the circuit. Despite this, he built a big enough back to Tsunoda in the closing stages to keep his P10 position.
In the closing stages, both Ferrari cars were closing in on Lando Norris, who was running a lonely P2 with Max Verstappen far out of sight. As the final lap started, Sainz was right on the back of Norris into the first corner, forcing the McLaren driver into a lock-up and drop to P3. Norris didn’t have time to mourn the loss of the position, with Leclerc pushing hard to take his podium away.
Leclerc only had one overtaking opportunity on the final lap, but Norris took a defensive line into turn 15. This caught Leclerc off guard, forcing the Monegasque driver to take evasive action to avoid a collision. This was enough for Norris to secure his place on the bottom step of the podium, losing only two points to his championship rival Max Verstappen, who finished the race with a comfortable lead.
This sprint race was only the beginning. There will be more action to come tomorrow for the main event around the Circuit of the Americas.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | 31:06.146 | 8 |  | |
| 2 | 19 | +3.882 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 19 | +6.240 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 19 | +6.956 | 5 | ||
| 5 | 19 | +15.766 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 19 | +18.724 | 3 | ||
| 7 | 19 | +25.161 | 2 | ||
| 8 | 19 | +26.588 | 1 | ||
| 9 | 19 | +29.950 | |||
| 10 | 19 | +37.059 | |||
| 11 | 19 | +38.363 | |||
| 12 | 19 | +39.460 | |||
| 13 | 19 | +41.236 | |||
| 14 | 19 | +41.995 | |||
| 15 | 19 | +42.804 | |||
| 16 | 19 | +44.008 | |||
| 17 | 19 | +44.564 | |||
| 18 | 19 | +46.807 | |||
| 19 | 19 | +52.842 | |||
| 20 | 19 | +54.476 |
| 1 | M. Verstappen | 339 |  | |
| 2 | L. Norris | 285 | -54 | |
| 3 | C. Leclerc | 250 | -89 | |
| 4 | O. Piastri | 237 | -102 | |
| 5 | C. Sainz | 197 | -142 | |
| 1 | McLaren | 522 | | |
| 2 | Red Bull | 483 | -39 | |
| 3 | Ferrari | 453 | -69 | |
| 4 | Mercedes | 336 | -186 | |
| 5 | Aston Martin | 86 | -436 | |
